How to Reduce Cost in Rural Hospitals: Presented at the IFRS Meeting by Dr. R.R. Tongaonkar

INTRODUCTION

Dr. RR Tongaonkar is a legendary rural surgeon working in a remote area called Dondaicha in Dhule district of Maharashtra. He is the past president of the Association Rural Surgeons of India and International Federation of Rural Surgeons of India. These are the excerpts from his speech at the various international conferences of rural surgery at Ifakara in Tanzania and Eruwa in Nigeria.

BACKGROUND

India is a rapidly developing economy and many corporate are seeing India as a potential area for investment. However the reality is that our per capita GNP is $500 while it is well over $20,000 in the developed countries. Forty percent of Indians are below the poverty line and over 400 million in our country have no access to even primary surgical care.

The accesses to the available surgical facilities are complicated by the meager transport facilities.

Once the patients reach the hospital affordability is a very significant factor. Dr. Tongaonkar shares the charges at his rural hospital and compares it with the costs at Pune where he underwent surgery about 10 years earlier.